Livingston County is a wrestling hotbed, but the level of talent competing at area high schools is even higher than usual this season.

There will be a record 29 county wrestlers in the state individual tournament Friday and Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit, with all five schools qualifying athletes in Divisions 1 or 2.

The previous record for county state qualifiers was 26 in 2011. Boosting the total is a county-record 13 qualifiers for Brighton and a school-record-tying 11 for Hartland.

With that many wrestlers in the mix, the record of 14 state placers could easily be broken, especially considering how many high-end competitors will be at Ford Field.

But, of those 29 wrestlers, which ones have the best chance of standing at the top of the podium as state champions?

Here’s a look at the five top state championship contenders from the county:

1. Kyle Kantola, Hartland, Sr.

► Weight: 130

► Record: 46-0

► Ranking: No. 1

► State meet history: Fifth at 103 in 2016, seventh at 119 in 2017, second at 125 in 2018

► Lowdown: Kantola is the first county wrestler since Hartland’s Jacob Gorial in 2015 to enter the state meet undefeated. He’s not only unbeaten, but nobody has come close to lasting with the three-time state placer. After winning a 15-4 majority decision over Detroit Catholic Central’s Camden Trupp in the season opener, Kantola has won 42 straight matches by pins (not including three forfeits). His last 11 matches have been decided in the first period.

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Brighton's Eddie Homrock (left) has not lost to a Michigan wrestler this season.(Photo: Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)

2. Eddie Homrock, Brighton, Jr.

► Weight: 125

► Record: 52-2

► Ranking: No. 1

► State meet history: Qualified at 119 in 2017, fourth at 125 in 2018

► Lowdown: Homrock was ranked at 130 earlier in the season, bringing up the possibility he’d meet Kantola for a state championship, but he moved down to 125 where the path to the title isn’t as formidable. Homrock is unbeaten against Michigan wrestlers, routinely beating state-ranked competition. Few wrestlers are as battle-tested. His two losses are 3-2 and 8-6 overtime decisions to out-of-state wrestlers.

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Brighton's River Shettler has won two close decisions against his top competition at 171 pounds.(Photo: Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)

3. River Shettler, Brighton, Sr.

► Weight: 171

► Record: 48-3

► Ranking: No. 1

► State meet history: Fourth at 152 in 2017, second at 160 in 2018

► Lowdown: Shettler has won some great low-scoring battles with second-ranked Dustin Solomon of Macomb Dakota the last two seasons. Shettler won the regional title over Solomon last year, 3-2 in the sudden-victory round. This year, he won 1-0 on Dec. 12 and 3-1 in the team semifinals. The two are on a collision course to meet in the state final.

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Corey Cavanaugh of Hartland beat Westland John Glenn's Kyle Borthwell for the second time this season in the team quarterfinals on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019.(Photo: Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)

4. Corey Cavanaugh, Hartland, Sr.

► Weight: 135

► Record: 39-4

► Ranking: No. 2

► State meet history: Eighth at 103 in 2016, qualified in 2017, fifth at 119 in 2018

► Lowdown: Cavanaugh was pinned by top-ranked Josh Edmond of Detroit Catholic Central in the season opener, so beating him will be a tough task. However, Cavanaugh is peaking at the right time as he finishes out a great four-year career. He beat No. 5 Kyle Borthwell of Westland John Glenn twice and No. 4 Zach Johnson of Brighton in February.

5. Greyson Stevens, Brighton, Jr.

► Weight: 189

► Record: 48-5

► Ranking: No. 3

► State meet history: Qualified at 189 in 2018

► Lowdown: Stevens has two outstanding wrestlers ranked ahead of him, but this is a kid who can keep it close enough to win matches against elite competition. He lost 5-2 to top-ranked Cal Stefanko of Davison to open the year and has dropped two 3-1 decisions to No. 2 Easton Turner of Detroit Catholic Central. Stefanko was injured during his victory over River Shettler in the team state semifinals, so he might be a bit vulnerable if he hasn’t healed.